Longest Day
by nebula2
Summary: First story POV from Virgil's POV during the events of the movie. What was going on in Virgil's mind as they rushed to save John from TB5.  Movie Verse  Companion Piece to "Living Nightmare"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Thunderbirds are not mine. I'm only borrowing them for entertainment purposes. Some Dialogue is taking directly from the Thunderbirds Movie as this story is an interpretation of what Virgil was thinking and feeling during the events of the movie.

AN: This story has previously been posted here but I took it done. I am now reposting it. This is movie universe and for anyone not familiar with my stories the order of the Tracy Boys that I go with is: Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. This story is seven chapters and is a companion piece to "Living Nightmare". Hope you enjoy!

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><p>I wasn't sure how I was staying awake. My head hurt, hell my whole body ached, and I knew I wasn't thinking clearly but I couldn't fall asleep. Alan, Fermat, and Tin-tin had long ago fallen asleep, worn out by their adventure. Brains, Kyrano, and Onaha had retired not long after Dad had called from the hospital telling us that John was going to be okay and that he would soon be bringing him home. Scott and Gordon hadn't lasted too much longer after that. Both of them were currently sleeping on the couch.<p>

As tired as I was though, I couldn't relax enough to fall asleep. Leaving my two brothers in the living room, I had quietly made my way up to my room. Crossing over to the bed where my violin was laying, I absently closed the lid which I had left open in my hurry to leave earlier that morning. I locked the hinges and then picked the case up putting it in its usual resting place.

Next, I grabbed my walkman and put on the headphones. Soon the sounds of Beethoven were coming through them. Listening to the familiar notes, I tried to clear my mind. Forget about the events of the day. Forget about almost losing a brother, and having some maniac try to not only kill us but try to destroy our way of life. Tried to destroy what my Dad had spent so long building. Something that had been a major part of my life for the last four years, ever since I turned sixteen and Dad finally let me seriously start training to fly the Thunderbirds.

I had been a year older than Alan was now. I could still remember how excited I had been. Most kids look forward to their sixteen birthday so they could drive. I didn't care about driving back then, I only wanted to fly. Fly rocket ships to be exact. Be apart of International Rescue.

I still remembered how overwhelming the first mission I had really been a part of had been. I had been training for four months. Had went along on a few missions as a spectator. Still, when the time came to actually participate in the rescue, I had been frightened. It was the adrenaline of the moment that had kept me going. The fast pace not giving me the chance to really think about what I was doing. I was acting on pure instinct.

Just like Alan had been today. He hadn't been giving time to think about what it was he and the other two were doing. He was reacting to the situation and with no training what so ever. He had been fulfilling his dream. Tomorrow, when his body got the rest it needed, and he had time to think about everything that had taken place I knew it would catch up with him. I also knew my Dad would be there for him, just like he had been there for the rest of us.

Those were the thoughts that were going through my head, keeping me from concentrating on the music. I tried again to listen to the notes. To picture in my mind the finger positions that would create those notes. Instead, I kept hearing the red alert alarm go off. The Hood's voice telling us his plan. Kept seeing the state of Thunderbird 5 when we had arrived. The station still didn't look much better. It was running on minimal power, enough to keep it in geosynchronous orbit. Very little information was being transmitted down to the island as most of the sensors and systems were either not working or barely working. We had a lot of work ahead of us to get it fully functional again.

Tossing my headphones aside, I stood up and headed for the window. There was a full moon out, and the moonlight sparkled off of the water far below my window much like the sunlight had earlier that morning.

I heard footsteps out in the hall. Turning from the window I crossed the room to the door to see who else was up. As I peered into the hallway, I caught a glimpse of Dad, carrying John, disappear into John's room not far down the hall from mine.

Quietly, I stepped out into the hall. I needed to see him again for myself. Reassure myself that he was going to be okay.

Before long I was standing in the doorway of my brother's room. John's eyes were closed and he was as still as he was back at the accident scene in London. Back when the thought that we might still lose him had crossed my mind, as we had waited for Dad and Alan to get back from dealing with the Hood.

I watched silently as my dad pulled the blanket up over John. I could see the worry and fear and his face. And guilt. I knew that my dad felt responsible for everything that had happened today. For putting so many lives in danger including the lives of his five sons.

But this wasn't his fault. He wasn't responsible for what the Hood had done. As for Scott, Gordon, John and I being in danger this was our choice. We all knew the dangers. All knew the risks. Knowing that, we had decided that this was what we wanted to do with our lives. We wanted to be able to help people. Make a difference in the world.

Alan knew the dangers firsthand now too. My youngest brother was going to have a lot to deal with once the events of the day caught up with him but he would deal with it. We all would in our own way, together and alone. Alan would also have a choice to make. He would have to decide if International Rescue was something that he really wanted to do.

Looking at the scene before me I couldn't help but wonder how a day that had started off so peaceful could end this way . . .

As I reached out a hand and turned my alarm clock off I tried to force my eyes open. I so hated waking up in the morning. Stretching my arms out over my head, I glanced toward the window. The sun was peeking in around the blinds.

Throwing the blankets back, I got out of bed and walked over to the window. Opening the blind I looked down the scene below. The bright sunshine sparkled off the waves crashing on the beach. It was a beautiful sight.

I saw a small figure out on the beach heading back toward the house. Although the person was too far away for me to make out I knew who it was. It was Gordon, out for his morning run on the beach.

I knew exactly how lucky I was. How many twenty year olds got to visit paradise? Not only did I get to visit paradise, I got to live here.

There was a knock on my door.

"Yeah," I called out not taking my eyes off the scene below.

"Dad sent me to get you up for breakfast," Scott said as he opened the door.

"Okay, I'll be right down," I told him finally turning away from the window.

Scott nodded and then left the room. I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to join the rest of my family for breakfast.

After breakfast that morning, I excused myself and headed upstairs to my room. On the way up the steps I passed Gordon who had left the table long before I had. His hair was still wet from the shower he had taken.

"Looks like I'm heading downstairs just in time," Gordon commented as he saw me. My whole family knew what I did after breakfast - I went to my room and practiced my violin. Gordon was the only one who gave me a hard time about it anymore.

"You just don't appreciate good music."

"I like music that isn't older than Dad is."

"It's called classical Gordon, and the fact that it has been around for as long as it has should tell you something."

"Yeah, it tells me to stay away from it, like I stay away from moldy bread."

I stuck my tongue out at him and started back up the stairs. I had a feeling that I was never going to get through to Gordon. Some people you just couldn't introduce culture to.

I headed to my room and took out my violin. It didn't take long before I was lost in the music. I loved to start my days off by playing the violin. It was such a peaceful way to start things off. I could relax and clear my mind of everything else. Forget about everything else for a little while.

I was in the middle of a piece by Bach when the alarm went off, the blaring noise cutting through the musical trance I had been lost in.

_"Red Alert ... Red Alert ... Red Alert_."

Acting on instinct, I quickly laid the violin in its case, not bothering to close the lid, and headed out of my room. I hurried through the corridors of the house to my Dad's office wondering what was going on. The red alert warning went off when something had happened either on the island or to one of the Thunderbird. As I hadn't heard anything prior to the alert, the former option was ruled out. That left the Thunderbirds, of which, only Thunderbird 5 was operational at this time, as far as I knew.

My thoughts immediately jumped to my older brother, John, who was currently manning IR's space station. I said a quick prayer for him even as I continued on to my destination.

I arrived about the same time as my father and two brothers did, walking into the office just before Scott.

"How bad, Brains?" my father asked as he hurried into the office. He headed toward his desk, where the scientist was sitting, even as Brains started to reply.

"Thunderbird 5, major damage sustained," Brains told us.

I felt my stomach clench. I knew space could be very unforgiven. If the life support systems had been damaged too badly this could turn into a recovery mission not a rescue operation.

'Don't think like that,' I silently scolded myself as I headed toward my portrait on the wall.

"Possible mm-mm-fu– Possible strike by a mm - - ,"

"Meteor," I heard my father supply, having already taken a glance at the computers as he walked behind Brains and headed toward his own portrait.

"Yep," Brains confirmed.

"Thunderbirds are go," I heard my father say. He tried to keep his voice even and professional but I could still hear the worry in his voice.

This wasn't a usual rescue operation. This was personal. This was one of our own in need of assistance. Still, to be of any help to John we had to keep our emotions in check.

The four of us headed for Thunderbird 3. Gordon naturally went to the pilot's seat of the spaceship and Dad of course would be at the middle console where he could monitor everything. Scott and my positions weren't as clear cut as Thunderbird 3 was not our primary craft.

As I was ahead of Scott, I climbed into the co-pilot's seat next to Gordon. I needed something to do. Something to occupy my mind. Something to keep from thinking about possible scenarios taking place on Thunderbird 5 right now.

I expected to hear some kind of protest from Scott. My eldest brother liked to be in control not an idle spectator. It was what made him a good field commander but Dad was with us this time. Scott wasn't in charge. He couldn't give me orders and I was bound and determine not to budge from the co-pilot's seat.

Scott didn't say anything though as he silently took a seat in one of the back passenger seats of the cockpit. Gordon was already smoothly going through the necessary pre-flight checks skipping the ones he could.

It wasn't long before Thunderbird 3 was coming to life. The powerful engine rumbling as they came on line.

"Guidance systems green," the computer chimed as we began lifting up out of the hangar beneath the island.

"Go to maximum thrust," Dad told Gordon as soon as it was safe to do so.

I tried to keep my mind on the task at hand, and concentrated on the instruments before me. Double checking everything as Gordon concentrated on getting the red rocket ship out of Earth's atmosphere and into space. I heard Dad's voice in the background talking Gordon through it, not that Gordon wasn't perfectly capable of handling the craft because he was.

However, just like me, I was sure Gordon wasn't thinking completely about the take off. That part of his attention was diverted to what could possibly be going on up in Thunderbird 5. Dad's voice gave us both something to latch on to. To keep us focused on the task at hand.

And then another voice echoed through the cockpit. A voice that we were all thankful to hear despite the situation.

"I'm losing all power! Repeat - - I'm losing all power!" John reported his voice coming over the radio. Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registered that John sounded way to calm for this to be real. Like this was another training scenario. But then that was just like my brother. Always sounding and acting like he was in control no matter what happened. Ever the professional, just like our father.

Still, I knew my brother well. Even without being near him I could see through the professional mask he put up. I could hear the pain and fear in his voice as it wavered just a little. It was only John's training and professionalism kicking in that made him seem calm and in control. I had no doubt that he was just as scared as the rest of us were. And he was alone.

"Hold on John! We're coming in!" my father told him, letting him know that we heard his report. That he wasn't completely alone. "Gordon, prepare for immediate docking," he said as we approached Thunderbird 5.

I looked in Gordon's direction out the viewport and got my real good look at the damage the station had received. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"You got it, Dad," Gordon replied beside me.

I took my eyes off the picture of Thunderbird 5 on the screen and tried to focus back on the task at hand, which was docking with the station. Ready to assist and give him any information he needed.

"Reverse main thrusters on my mark," Gordon said. In my peripheral vision I saw Gordon glance briefly in my direction as he started a countdown. "Three, two, one."

I hit the controls to reverse the main thrusters, slowing the craft down.

"Easy. Watch the roll," Dad said behind us.

"Roll index angle, minus two degrees," I told Gordon.

"Initiate docking sequence," the computer announced.

The rocket shuddered slightly as it attached to the docking arm of Thunderbird 5. I was already raising the harness even as Gordon announced "we're locked on."

"Nice work," Dad said.

"Docking sequence complete," the computer voice said even as we were all already out of our seats and moving. I saw Scott already at the hatch preparing our exit from the ship as I stood up.

"Tunnel hatch secure!"

"Emergency packs, boys! Let's move!" my father said urgently hitting the last few controls to put Thunderbird 3 in stand-by.

I picked up the emergency pack nearest me and put it on. Putting the helmet on and switching on the helmet light I followed my dad and Scott out of Thunderbird 3 and into the docking arm of Thunderbird 5.

I wasn't sure exactly what we were walking into but if the outside of the station was any indication, we were about to walk into a mess. The four of us rushed down the tunnel. There was only one more airlock between us and the interior of the station.

My Dad reached the airlock first and started hitting the access code to the first door.

"Airlock pressure equalized," the computer said.

"We're in! Let's go!"

As I followed my Dad into the airlock, I felt as if I was moving in slow motion. That everything was taking way too long. Ahead of us, the second door was already cycling open but I wanted to already be through it. Every second counted I didn't want to be too late.

As he approached the door I saw my dad hesitate momentarily, trying to take in the situation. Seeing what needed to be done.

"John!" he cried out and then started rushing into the station.

As I came through the airlock door not far behind my dad I got my first look at the station. The outside had been bad but the inside was worse. The station was dark. A few emergency lights were on and some controls blinked on the panels but that was it. Besides the lights from our helmets, most of the illumination came from the several fires that were blazing and the sparks of electricity from blown circuits. I knew my brother was lucky to be alive.

I saw John lying of the floor of the control deck. His normal light hair was darkened by the soot that covered him from head to toe. If it wasn't for the fact that he was trying to sit up I would've been worried that we had been too late. My brother didn't look good at all.

"Scott tackle that fire," Dad ordered indicating the biggest of the fires blazing off to our right. Within seconds he was kneeling at John's side helping him to sit up.

"Am I glad to see you guys," John said looking up at Dad.

As I hovered over Dad's shoulder, I let out a breath I hadn't known I had been holding. I was relieved to hear John's voice again.

"Easy. You're hurt," Dad told him as he helped John into a sitting position. As he did I noticed the blood in his hair in the back. Inside I cringed, although I tried to keep my face passive. I had to be strong for my brother.

"Virgil, take care of your brother," Dad ordered looking up at me. I nodded and headed for Thunderbird 5's medical kit as my dad continued to give orders. "Gordon, give me a damage assessment," I heard him say.

I grabbed the medical kit from its storage cabinet and rushed back to my brother. As I knelt down beside John, I noticed that Dad had grabbed a fire extinguisher and was helping Scott with putting out the fires.

John was sitting indian style clutching his right arm close to him. The first thing I did was check the wound on the back of his head. It didn't seem to be bleeding anymore and the blood was already dry so I didn't touch it. The last thing I needed was for it to start bleeding again. Taking the pen light out of the medical kit I checked John's pupils looking for signs of a more serious head trauma then the obvious one on the back of his head. I was relieved to see that they were equal and reactive.

"Okay enough with the light already," John complained.

"Well, I guess I can safely say that victim is alert and oriented." I said with a slight smile. I took the fact that he was complaining as a good sign.

I finished my assessment on John's injuries, bandaging his burnt hand and putting his injured arm in a sling. I was getting out the oxygen for him when my dad rejoined us, kneeling down behind John.

"How is he?" Dad asked taking the mask from me and placing it over John's mouth and nose. I became aware that all the fires had been put out although electricity still sparked at different locations of the control room. Scott and Gordon were at the control panels still doing the damage assessment.

"Well, there is the wound on the back of the head but bleeding has stopped. Neuro check was fine. Pulse is ninety-eight, respiration is twenty-one and breaths are shallow. He suffered burns to his right hand and an injury to the right shoulder, movement is painful and limited," I told him looking over at my dad.

I didn't say the obvious. His pulse was higher than normal and rate of respiration was too fast. Not to mention the chance of internal injuries that we didn't know about. John needed better medical attention than I could give and as soon as possible.

I saw my Dad nod at me, and knew he understood my silent message.

"We've got a constant warning light on our E.P.S system," Scott said from the control panel he was standing at.

"Attempt manual override," Dad commanded from where he was. I reached up to take the mask from Dad, holding it in place for my brother.

"You still with us?" I asked John softly as I noticed his eyes were closed. He nodded.

"No that's negative," came Scott's report. His voice was no pure panic.

As Dad stood up and headed for the control panel, I noticed that both Scott and Gordon were at the same panel. My Dad got in between them checking things out for himself.

"Back to Thunderbird 3 now," he commanded turning away from the control panel. With a nod Scott and Gordon headed toward the airlock as Dad came back to where John and I were. I was already putting the mask back in the medical kit getting ready to leave as Dad knelt down to help John up. "John, we've got to move," my Dad told him.

With John's good arm across my shoulders, Dad and I helped him stand up. I heard him groan in pain as he moved. Just knowing how much pain my brother was in was paining me. I already wanted to have him off of thunderbird 5 and at a hospital. Or better yet, back on Tracy Island recovering.

"The locking mechanism's jammed!" Gordon said from his spot by the airlock.

Before anyone could say anything, another voice filled the station. It was unfamiliar. Deep and ominous, it seemed to come from all around us. I couldn't resist looking toward the ceiling as I turned around like actually expected to see something or someone in the station with us.

"Attention, Thunderbird 5. As you can see, I have taken over your facilities," the voice was saying. Dad, John and I turned slowly back to the control panels to see an image now on the vid screen. A bald man in red was on the screen. He was dressed in red and was in command and control. In the background, I saw Brains standing there looking worried. I just hoped that everyone else was okay.

"You no longer control your operational systems," he told us although we had pretty much figured that out by now.

What did this guy want? And just how did he find the island let alone tap into our systems? Brains and Dad was constantly working to improve the security of our systems to keep anyone from hacking in.

Dad left John's, side walking toward the vid screen. I was well aware of my brother's presence as he struggled to stay standing. Could feel the tremors that passed through his body from the effort. I was probably the only thing that was keeping him on his feet at this point.

It was a strange feeling. John was always the one looking out for me. It was an unwritten rule among us that the older one always look out for the younger one. As much as John had always looked out for me, I had always looked out for Gordon. This time though, it was John that needed me and I was determined to be there for him, just like he had always been there for me.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This chapter has more dialogue borrowed right from the movie. Thunderbirds and it's characters are not mine.

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><p>"You left me to die that day," the maniac who had introduced himself as The Hood said as he went on talking about the day of the mine collapse.<p>

I remembered the mission. It was four years ago. It had been the first mission that I officially went on. An illegal diamond mine had collapsed, leaving the workers and supervisors trapped. We had tried our best. Tried to save everyone, but the mine had kept collapsing around us, the walls never having been properly supported as the tunnels were dug. We had finally had no other choice than to retreat before we were trapped ourselves. Kryano, had been the last person we were able to save before the entire mine collapsed in on itself.

Dad had offered our assistance with the cleanup afterwards but the local rescue personnel had declined. They didn't expect to find anyone else alive. From that point on, it was simply a matter of recovering the bodies for proper burial. We hadn't left anyone to die. We had done our best and then turned it over to other trained professionals.

Evidently someone had survived that final collapse and here he was blaming us for leaving him. And if he was indeed Kryano's brother, then that whole situation would have never happened if it wasn't from him. Kryano's brother had operated the illegal mine. If anyone was responsible for those people's deaths, it was him.

I bit my lip to keep from saying what I wanted to say. Scott had already gotten a look from Dad for his outburst and I knew an outburst from me would warrant the same disapproval. This was something that he wanted to handle.

"You may have broken my body, but you've no idea how powerful my mind has become," The Hood said, continuing his tirade as he sat down in the chair behind the desk, in plain view now of the vid screen."Now, you will suffer, as I suffered . . . " he said leaning back in the chair, "waiting for a rescue that will never come."

As he finished those last words, he was leaning back in the chair, looking at the ceiling. I knew it was crazy, but it was almost as if he was looking up at us on Thunderbird 5. That all the man-made materials and the distance that lay between us didn't matter.

I saw The Hood wave his hand, like we were nothing but flies. That we were a mere nuisance that he had to dispose of. Truth is, I knew just how vulnerable we were up here, in the crippled space station.

Thunderbird 5 relied heavily on the computer systems. It had to in order for one person to run it. Being able to control things from the island had also seemed like a logical thing to do. With only one person up here, there had to be away to tap into the systems from the island if, god forbid, anything should ever happen to that person.

Now, those features were starting to seem like a hindrance. A mistake that had left us open to this invasion.

"Wait!" my father yelled as the vid screen started to fade.

It wasn't the only thing fading though. There was a whirling sound as the systems that had still been working, life support mainly, shut down. Except emergency batteries, Thunderbird 5 now had no power at all. We were basically standing in a hunk of metal tumbling through space. Not exactly how I thought that I would be spending my afternoon.

"Scott, status report," my father commanded.

Scott turned to look at the control panel next to him, which seemed to be one of the few things still working on the station. Not that it did us much good. The Hood had control of the computers which meant that no matter what controls we hit up here it wouldn't matter. Control had to be returned back to Thunderbird 5 before the control panels would be of any use to us other than read outs.

"CO2 levels are rising."

Scott didn't seem panicked now, for which I was grateful. I rarely saw my oldest brother not in control like I had earlier. Even in some of the riskiest missions we had been on, he had kept his cool. He had always stayed calm, keeping Gordon and I thinking about the task at hand. Whenever Dad wasn't there, he was our anchor. His anger at The Hood must have been overcoming his fear.

I felt John leaning more on me, standing doing nothing to improve his condition.

"All right. Wire the oxygen scrubber to the emergency batteries. Clean the air," Dad told Scott.

Scott nodded and walked off to get started on the task.

"How long will that give us?" I asked my Dad. Part of me didn't really want to know the answer. It was like being on death row and knowing your time was almost up. I didn't see how we were going to get out of this no matter how much time we had.

My dad looked in my direction at the sound of my voice. I could see the worry in his face. I could tell he didn't have much hope in this situation getting any better himself. His gaze drifted from me to John beside me.

I looked at my brother myself. He knew Thunderbird 5 the best.

"About four hours," John replied sullenly. Things were looking bleaker by the moment.

I watched silently, as Dad looked down at the floor of the station and walked away. I knew he felt responsible. Felt guilty for putting us in danger. I could see it. I just didn't know what to say to him.

"Let's get you off your feet," I said to John leading him over to the chair and easing him down in it.

I knelt down in front of him and started checking his pulse and respiration again. I didn't get too far as he moved his hand out of my reach.

"Virgil I'm fine," he said to which I gave him a disbelieving look. There was no way I was going to believe that line. "Okay, well maybe I'm not fine," he said taking in the look I gave him. "However, there isn't anything more you can do for me up here and if we don't find away off this station its not going to matter much anyway how badly I'm hurt."

"Virgil," I heard my dad call. I turned to see him standing by the pit in the floor where the oxygen scrubbers were located. They had moved the floor panel to gain access to them. Scott was already down in the pit, starting the rewiring. Gordon was kneeling beside the pit near the tool box ready to help Scott however he could. "Can you look around the station? Make sure there isn't any other damage that we might need to know about. I want to know exactly where we stand."

"Sure Dad," I said standing up. I looked down at my brother.

"Go," he told me nodding in the direction of the access corridor which led off of the control deck to the rest of the station.

Reluctantly, I started walking in the direction he had nodded. I didn't want to leave my brother's side despite the fact that there wasn't really much I could do for him.

Dad was right though. Since we were stuck on the station, we needed to know about any other damage. Anything that might change our estimates of how much time we had.

Other than being dark, the rest of the station actually wasn't that bad. Here and there, things that hadn't been secure were now on the floor, but other than that things seemed intact, which I guess was one thing to be grateful for. At least I hadn't found any more surprises.

I was about to head back to the control room when an explosion rocked the station. I was thrown against the wall and fell to my knees.

The explosion had seemed to come from the direction of the control room. Stumbling to my feet, I headed back in the direction I came, hoping everyone was okay.

As I turned into the access corridor, I could see the smoke-filled air up ahead. I saw three figures moving in the smoky haze and heard my family's voices.

"The heat exchanger's blown! ," Scott said coughing as I watched my Dad and Gordon help him out of the pit.

"You don't say," my dad said lightly.

"Everyone okay?" I asked coming into the smoky control room. I coughed myself as I breathed in the smoky air. This smoke wasn't exactly helping matters and without environmental controls working it wasn't dissipating quickly at all.

"Yeah, I think we're all okay," Dad told me looking again at Scott and Gordon. Then he turned and looked toward the front of the room. "John?"

"Yeah, I'm as fine as I was before," he replied as he struggled to his feet on his own with the help of the nearby control panel. His words came out clipped as he spoke through his obvious pain.

Dad left Scott's side and hurried over to him. I heard Dad say something to him softly but couldn't make out the words. I walked forward to stand next to Gordon as Dad helped John back to the chair he had been sitting in when I had left the control room.

I felt eyes on me, and turned my head to see Gordon looking over at me. I could see the worry in his eyes. We both knew getting thrown around wasn't doing anything to improve John's condition.

"We're all going to get through this," I heard Scott say.

Gordon and I both looked at him. I could tell he didn't actually believe those words anymore than I did but it was still nice to hear them spoken out loud. Maybe if we said them enough we might all start to believe them.

"Okay boys," Dad said turning back to us. "Let's see exactly what damage this latest explosion has caused."

In the back of my mind, I knew it was just busywork. Something to do to keep us occupied so that we wouldn't think about the inevitable. Still, at this point, I'd take any distraction I could get.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I'm still within the movie events and therefore some of the dialogue is taken from the 2004 movie.

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><p>"Dad!"<p>

At first I thought I was hallucinating. It wouldn't have surprised me none. The station was stifling. I had long ago unbuttoned the collar of my uniform but it hadn't helped any.

I could have sworn I had just heard Alan's voice but that was impossible. I was in outer space and Alan was down on Earth. He was somewhere on Tracy Island and with any luck free. I didn't want to think about the possibility of my youngest brother in the clutches of the bald maniac who had taken over the island.

"It's Alan!" I heard John call out from where he was sitting. He had been trying to find away to bypass the island's control of the computers and get back control of Thunderbird 5. No, one had seemed very hopeful of the idea, not even John who had helped Brains design a lot of Thunderbird 5's systems. Still it gave him something to do and who knew, we might even get lucky.

I abandoned what I had been doing and rushed to where John was sitting. The rest of my family was doing the same thing.

"Alan! Where are you? Are you safe?" Dad asked. I was standing behind him and John, looking over my father's shoulder. I was so relieved to see Alan's face on the screen in front of us.

"I'm at the satellite relay station with Fermat and Tin-Tin. Fermat's gonna hack into the main computer system and give control of Thunderbird 5 back to you."

It seemed like a huge weight was suddenly lifted off of my shoulders. Suddenly we had a ray of hope. If Fermat could give us back control of the station we could get off it and put a stop to the Hood's plan.

"We're standing by."

We all waited anxiously, our eyes glued to the screen in front of us. I saw Alan look away and say something to someone off screen, probably to Fermat. I couldn't hear what he had said though.

"Alan, what's happening?" Dad said asking the same question that was on my mind. That was probably on all of our minds.

"Hang in there Dad. One more minute, okay?" I saw him glance away a few more times. "Dad, can you hear me? They're jamming this signal. We're gonna lose you. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."

"That's a negative. It's too dangerous. Follow emergency procedure. Wait for Lady Penelope at the rendezvous point. Alan can you read me? Alan, we're losing you," he said as the image before we started to break up. "Alan!"

"Well," Dad said softly under his breath as we all stood up straight.

I looked at my Dad. Just as it had appeared our ray of hope had disappeared. We knew Alan and the other two kids were okay for now, but what if The Hood and his goons tracked the signal. Would they be able to elude them?

"Do you think he'll listen? Do you think he'll go to the rendezvous point?" Scott asked Dad, asking the question that was on my mind to.

The answer didn't come from Dad though.

"No," John said. I looked down at my older brother to see him looking up at Dad. "He's going to try to help us on his own."

I looked from John back to Dad and saw my Dad nod slightly.

"I just hope he doesn't get himself killed in the process," Dad said worriedly evidently agreeing with John's assessment.

John was probably right. My youngest brother had become obsessed with our missions and the thunderbirds lately. I knew he wanted to be a part of what was going on. Was looking at it as some big adventure. However, I didn't think Alan had any clue about what he was actually getting into. Didn't realize the danger?

But right now Alan was our only chance. If we didn't get help from the island then we didn't have a chance. Still, Alan, Tin-Tin, and Fermat probably stood a better chance if they did what Dad had told Alan to do and waited for Lady Penelope. How much could the kids actually do on their own?

Not to mention, the chances for Lady Penelope being able to help us would increase with Alan meeting her at the rendezvous. Alan would be able to tell her what was going on. Without that, Lady Penelope was walking into the situation blindly.

That of course was assuming that she got to the island in time to be of any help to us.

I wandered away from the group we were standing in. I couldn't stand just standing around. At least pacing gave me something to do even if it was pointless.

As I was pacing, my eyes fell on one of the readouts. The readout which was monitoring Thunderbird 5's deteriorating orbit.

"Hoo! Somebody roll down a window, it's gettin' a little hot in here," I heard my dad say lightly trying to break the tension that had filled the station with the loss of Alan's signal. It didn't work though. Especially not for me as I looked at the information that was in plain sight in front of me.

"Reentry into Earth's atmosphere in 37 minutes," I said out loud looking away from the screen and at my father.

"Oxygen's out at 30, so we won't feel a thing," I heard Scott retort. I looked in the direction of his voice and for some reason wanted to go after him, not that it would get me anywhere. My anger at Scott was as pointless as my pacing had been. My father's voice was the only thing that held me back.

"Stop it!" he said loudly and firmly looking first at Scott and then at me.

"Come on, Dad. The situation's hopeless," Gordon said from the hole in the floor he was in again. What he was actually doing down there I wasn't sure. He was probably just trying to keep his mind occupied.

"No, it's not," Dad told him firmly looking down at Gordon. " There's still time. We've got people on the ground working for us."

"Alan? He's just a kid."

I felt the same way. Alan might end up blowing the station up in trying to help us. Things seldom turned out like he planned and when Alan was involved you usually had to expect the worse.

"He's a Tracy," Dad told him in a tone which made me happy that I had kept my mouth shut.

I watched as Gordon held Dad's gaze for a little while and the finally looked down. Looking from Gordon, I looked back in Scott's direction. Scott met my gaze. I could see the silent apology in his eyes. I think the heat was getting to all of us and making us more on edge than the situation had already put us on.

I nodded slightly, silently accepting the silent apology.

I reached up and wiped the back of my hand across my forehead, wiping away the sweat and grime that was there. What I wouldn't do for a pool right about now. Forget the last meal of a condemned man, I'd be quite happy with a last swim.

I looked back at the screen. The numbers were still there. It was like they were mocking us. Rubbing it in that we didn't have that much longer. Thirty minutes until reentry. I shook my head. It was much better not knowing when the end was coming. This knowing was torture.

I walked away from the screen, going back to my pacing.

"Will you stop it?" I heard John say softly as I walked past him like the tenth time. "It's getting on my nerves."

"Sorry," I told him as I quit walking. I looked down at him in the chair he was sitting in. He looked worse than when we had first come on board Thunderbird 5 and I hadn't thought that was possible.

"This is my fault."

At first I thought I had imagined those words. That the heat was making me hear things. Then I saw John looking up at me and I saw the guilt on his face. I knew then that he had actually said those words.

"Don't think like that," I told him kneeling down. "None of this is your fault."

"You guys wouldn't have been up here if I hadn't sent out the Mayday."

"Any of us would have. You can't blame yourself for that John," I told him. I looked over at him waiting for some kind of response, even a nod.

John's eyes were closed and he didn't make any movement.

"John!" I said worriedly, hoping for some kind of reaction from him. I didn't get any, other than John leaning in my direction. I put an arm around his shoulders and felt his weight laying limply against me.

"Dad!" I called out as I eased John out of the chair and onto the floor of the station.

"What happened?" Dad said as he joined us. He had the med kit with him and was already getting the emergency oxygen out again.

"He was talking to me and then he just fainted," I told him as Dad put the mask over John's mouth and nose.

I saw John's eyelids start to flutter.

"John," I said anxiously. Despite the fact that all of our deaths seemed imminent, I still didn't want to watch my brother die in front of me. I didn't know if that seemed selfish or not, but that's how I felt.

"I'm fine," John said softly pushing Dad's hand that was holding the mask away from him with his good arm. I helped him sit up.

Before anyone could say anything, we heard another whirling sound and brief alarm. As my mind was trying to figure out what had just happened, I felt myself growing light. I looked around to see metal scraps floating. The artificial gravity had just quit working.

"Scott, Gordon, see if you can't get the gravity online again," Dad said to my two brothers who had gathered around too. "Virgil, why don't you help them," Dad said nodding in the direction they had gone.

I wanted to argue as I wanted to stay with John. I knew now wasn't the time to argue though. Without a word I pushed lightly off the floor and followed my two brothers, being careful not to fun into any floating debris. I didn't even want to know how much time we had until reentry. I just wanted this nightmare to be over.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Once again there is dialogue directly from the 2004 movie. Also, I used lyrics from Five for Fighting's song "Superman" which due not appear in this version due to site constraints. I don't think much is lost to it though.

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><p>It felt as if I was soaring through the skies. Like flying Thunderbird 2, but I wasn't in my rocket. There was no seat, no straps holding me in, no metal protecting me from the atmosphere. There was absolutely nothing keeping me from touching the clouds around me. I reached out my hand and the white clouds passed through my finger tips.<p>

I heard lyrics in my head, but I had no clue as to where they were coming from. All that was around me was blue skies and white fluffy clouds. The music seemed to be floating to me from nowhere.

There was something to them though. A truth in them. Something about this wasn't right. I shouldn't be up here among the clouds unaided. Humans couldn't fly and yet that seemed to be exactly what I was doing.

I looked down, expecting to see the ground. See green fields, with blue rivers cutting through them. Houses sitting along grey roads. Scenes that I had seen plenty of times from the cockpit of Thunderbird 2.

Instead all I saw was a blank whiteness. Yet, it didn't seem like clouds. The clouds were fluffy. This whiteness looked like a blank slate. As if the world below me, the world I had grown up in, no longer existed.

As I looked at it though, the whiteness seemed to dissolve and a scene came into view. I saw myself when I was younger. John and Scott, also kids, were standing beside me and we were waving to someone. As I watched that person seemed to appear, like out of a mist. It was my Mom, holding Gordon in her arms. Both waved at us. And as a yellow school bus pulled into the scene I realized that what I was seeing was my first day of kindergarten.

A mist seemed to obscure the scene and when it cleared again, I was watching another scene from my childhood. It was a family picnic in the park. Dad throwing a frisbee to us kids, some of us more successful than the others at actually catching it.

The mist rolled in again, replacing that scene with another one, and then another. Like turning a photo album, scenes of my childhood seemed to float by me, only in this photo album, the pictures moved.

Again the lyrics came from nowhere. The music was playing softly in my head. All the scenes so far had been of happy times. Times when we were all together. Times when there was fun and laughter. Those moments in childhood that made you want to cling to childhood. That made you wish you never had to grow up - like Peter Pan.

Then the whiteness started to darken. It took on a dark grey tone and started looking like a storm below me.

Scenes started appearing in the greyness below me. Things that I had tried to put behind me. Like the bully in third grade who always stole my lunch money. The time that I fell ice skating and broke my wrist. Not being able to play the piano or violin while the wrist healed had driven me crazy. I saw missions that had gone wrong.

Then there I was on the island, not long after we had moved there. John, Scott and I had all gone exploring and had gotten caught in a torrential downpour. The rain had made the mountain trail slippery. I watched myself, watching John tumbling down the mountain. Scott had left us to go get help and I was alone with John.

"John don't close your eyes. Stay with me," I heard myself plead to my brother. Even as I heard myself saying them, I found myself mouthing them to myself once more. Scott had told me to keep John awake. I didn't understand why back then but I didn't question him. I had just done what I was told.

"_Don't go to sleep. John! Look at me." _

That was my Dad's voice. I looked around for him, taking my eyes away from the scene below me. All I saw was white mist. The blue skies were gone. The clouds were gone. I was alone.

"_Keep your eyes open."_

But then where was my Dad's voice coming from. I tried to concentrate. Remember where I had been.

Although it still seemed distance, I started to recall where I was. I was trapped on Thunderbird 5 with my family. The lack of oxygen in the air had started really affecting John first. His already injured body was having difficulty handling this new stress. Dad had been giving him oxygen already when the nausea and dizziness had hit me.

I couldn't help but wonder why Dad was bothering. It was over. We had run out of time. This was just one situation that we weren't going to make it out of.

That must have been what I was hearing - my Dad still unwilling to give up. Refusing to just let go.

I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't. The effort just seemed to be too much . . .

. . . Something had gotten through to me in my dazed state. I couldn't figure out what it had been though. I became aware of voices. I couldn't make out what was being said though. The more I tired to focus on them the more jumbled they seemed to become.

Then I felt my body getting heavier. Involuntarily, I took a deep breath. The air wasn't so stale anymore. I took another deep breath and tried to open my eyes as I heard cheering around me. What was going on?

"Virgil, you okay?" Scott said as I opened my eyes to find Scott kneeling beside me. I realized I was laying on the floor of Thunderbird 5.

"Yeah," I told him pushing myself to my knees and then slowly standing up. Even so a wave of momentary dizziness came over me. I closed my eyes, trying to will it away.

I looked toward the front of the control room to see both Dad and John standing at the control panels. I was relieved to see John standing on his own two feet. Dad had been right not to give up. Somehow we had managed to beat the odds and survive.

"Dad, are you all right?" I heard Alan's voice ask. Evidently my little brother had come through for us after all.

"We're fine," Dad said as he glanced our way briefly and saw the three of us moving around. "We still have a job to do. Where's the Hood?"

"He's in Thunderbird 2, Mr. Tracy. He's headed for Lo-Lo-Lo–"

"London."

"She's right."

"He's got them all onboard," Alan chimed in.

"Looks like Thunderbird 3 lost a booster, Dad." I heard John report as Gordon finally started getting to his feet. "We'll never get there in time."

"Let's start getting the emergency packs together, so we can get off this thing," Scott said to Gordon as me, even as Alan's voice came over the line.

"Let me go after The Hood. He'll destroy everything you've built, everything the Thunderbirds stand for."

"Negative. I'm sorry. It's to risky."

"I can do this. You know I can. What am I saying? We can do this."

'He'll never let him do it', I thought to myself as I helped pick up the gear we had brought onto the station with us. I picked up one of the helmets and tossed it over to Gordon.

The Hood had won. We might still be alive but International Rescue's image would be completely ruined. The good we had done. The trust people had put in us, would be loss by what The Hood was planning to do.

"Okay, Alan," I finally heard Dad say.

I was shocked. I couldn't believe my father had given in even though it was our only chance. Was Alan up to the challenge? He had already pulled off one miracle, would he be able to pull off a second?

"We'll meet you there," I heard Dad tell him. "Thunderbirds are go!"

"F.A.B.!"

I could hear the excitement in Alan's voice. He had no idea what he was getting into and maybe that was for the best.

By this time, the three of us had gathered everything and were standing by the airlock. All we were waiting for was Dad's signal that it was time to go. I couldn't wait to get off this station. Despite the fact that power and gravity had been restored, I still couldn't shake the creepy feeling that had come over me. Thunderbird 5 had almost become my tomb.

"Okay, boys, we are outta here!" Dad said looking over at us. Finally saying the words, I had so desperately wanted to hear.

As I turned to follow Gordon through the airlock, I saw Dad move to John's side. John still needed medical attention but once again it seemed like it was going to have to wait. The Hood had to be dealt with first. We couldn't leave Alan and the other two kids to face The Hood alone.

Setting the equipment I was carrying down, I sat down in the copilot's seat. Gordon was already in the pilot's seat preparing for undocking procedures.

The lost of the one booster didn't only affect the speed of the rocket ship. Without it, Thunderbird 3 was going to be more difficult to handle. Re-entry was going to be tougher than usual, both to accomplish it and on us physically.

I glanced over at Gordon.

"You ready?" he asked.

I nodded, as he glanced back over his shoulder at Dad, making sure everyone else was ready. Apparently, everything was okay as Gordon keyed the radio.

"Thunderbird 3 to Command."

"Go ahead, Thunderbird 3," came Brains voice over the radio.

"We are about to undock from Thunderbird 5."

"F.A.B."

"_Undocking sequence complete," _the computer said moments later as I watched Thunderbird 5 get a little more distance. At this point I wanted as much distance as possible from the station, which I had never particularly cared for anyway. Thunderbird 5 had always seemed to empty for my taste. Unfortunately, I knew I was going to be spending more time up here in the following weeks as we worked to get in back online. That was later though. Right now, I had to focus on the task at hand.

"Gordon, heat 'em up," Dad said from behind us.

Soon Thunderbird 3 was heading toward earth. As we entered Earth's atmosphere, the rocket began to shake. I could feel my teeth chattering as I tried to keep my eyes focused on the controls before me.

"Ride it out boys."


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: More dialogue from the 2004 movie is used_

_AN: So, this chapter finally breaks from the movie a bit. As Jeff and the kids go off to chase the Hood I stay at the river with the other Tracy boys and infer what happened there. Hope you enjoy!_

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><p>As we entered the troposphere, the ride started to smooth out, and none too soon for me. Even though Thunderbird 3 was no longer shaking, my body still felt as if it was. Gordon slowly leveled the rocket off as we made our way toward London. As fast as Thunderbird 3 was, I didn't feel like we were going fast enough.<p>

The Hood was already in London. Who knew what kind of trouble he was making and blaming on us.

"Brains, come in," Dad said into the radio trying to reach the island. The scientist appeared on central screen in front of us. "What's the situation?"

"The Hood has caused a major disaster with the Mole," Brains informed us. I found myself cringing at his words. The people of London had no idea that it wasn't us operating the mole. As far as they knew, it was us that had caused that disaster. " The mono-mono-mono– one-track railway is down in the Thames."

That wasn't good. I knew the design of the monorail car. As soon as it hit the water it would start to sink. I wasn't exactly sure how fast water would leak inside but whether they drowned or ran out of air it didn't matter. The people inside that car only had so much time. They needed to be rescued.

"Where's Thunderbird 1?"

"It's on the ground. The ki-ki-kids are in Thunderbird 2."

"F.A.B. We're right behind 'em," Dad informed him and then the screen went blank.

I looked down at the instruments, trying to figure out how long until we landed in London even though I knew whatever I saw there wouldn't be soon enough. The Hood already had too much of a lead. Had already caused damage with our machines. Machines that were suppose to help save lives not try to destroy them.

I might be off Thunderbird 5 but right then I felt just as helpless. We were so close, and yet still not able to do anything to really help yet. To do that we needed to be off Thunderbird 3 in much the same way as we had needed to get off Thunderbird 5.

If Alan and the others were in Thunderbird 2 now it meant that they were going to try and do something for those people trapped in the monorail car. I felt a little bit of relief at that but not much. Those kids had no training. Would they be able to save those people or were they just putting themselves in danger?

"Prepare for landing," Gordon said, his words cutting through my thoughts.

"_Landing gear engaged,"_ the computer announced.

Even though the computer monitored all aspects of the landing, and would alert us to anything that could lead to an error, I still kept an eye on my instruments myself. Old habits died hard. Dad had taught each of us to fly and land all of the Thunderbirds without the aid of the computer and although it was nice to have the computer backups I didn't rely solely on them. None of us did.

I felt the soft thud, as Gordon landed the rocket on the ground next to Thunderbird 1.

"_Landing complete," _the computer announced.

"Mr. Tracy," came Brains' voice over the radio.

"Go ahead, Brains," Dad said even as we prepared to leave Thunderbird 3.

"Just thought you would like to know that, Alan is now in Thunderbird 4 trying to retrieve the monorail car."

"F.A.B. Brains," I heard Dad say as I followed Scott out of Thunderbird 3.

Dad wasn't far behind me in making his way down the ladder of Thunderbird 3. As soon as we were on the ground, we all started sprinting toward the rail along the Thames.

As I rushed toward the railing, close behind my Dad who was now ahead of me, I saw the boats in the river. They were circling an area, which I knew meant that was where the monorail car had gone done. Thunderbird 2 was still hovering over the river. I knew Fermat was flying my rocket, which didn't exactly put my mind at ease. However, I was praying that he wouldn't crash it. If he did then if he was okay he had better stay out of my way for the next few weeks as I wouldn't be at all happy.

I came to a stop along the rail, next to my father. We all stood there, watching the river expectantly.

We knew that Thunderbird 4, with Alan, was in the river, trying to retrieve the monorail car. I kept my eyes glued to the area inside the circle created by the rescue boats. All I wanted was to see the familiar yellow of Thunderbird 4 break the surface with that monorail car. I wanted those people to be okay. For Alan to be okay.

And then the monorail car broke the surface, with Thunderbird 4 coming into view shortly afterwards. I heard the cheering going on around me as I let out the breath I had been holding. I turned toward my father to see a huge grin on his face. A grin that I knew was mirrored on my own.

"He did it," I heard Scott say as my father put his arm around my shoulders.

It was a great feeling seeing that little yellow sub. Something had finally gone right today. We were back on the ground and back in control. Able to actually affect the outcome of what was going on. We were no longer pawns of The Hood.

The five of us, left the spot where we were standing and headed for the steps that lead down to the river. Before too long, Alan and Tin-Tin were coming up the steps to join us. I had never been happier to see my youngest brother.

"Glad you could finally join us," Alan said in a cocky tone. One that reminded me a lot of Scott. I hadn't really noticed it before, but Alan was a lot like Scott.

"Don't go getting cocky after one mission," Dad told him as he hugged him. "We still have a dangerous situation here," he said turning to us and getting serious. "I need you boys to close down this accident scene."

I felt my self nodding slightly. As happy as I was that Alan was okay, I also knew this wasn't the time to be celebrating. There was still work to be done. The celebrating would have to wait until later. Until we were all back home safe and sound.

"Tin-Tin, go get Fermat. Meet us at Thunderbird 1. Alan, you come with me," Dad said his hand resting on Alan's shoulder as the two started walking off.

As Dad and Alan headed for Thunderbird 1, Gordon, Scott, John and I scattered to find out what we could do to help out. Working with the police and other rescue personnel on the scene, I helped out with crowd control.

As I worked, I lost track of time. It didn't really matter anyway. The only thing that mattered was keeping the situation under control. Helping those people who needed help. Reuniting friends and family that had gotten separated.

I found one little girl standing by herself crying. She must have gotten separated from her family when The Hood had landed Thunderbird 2 unexpectedly in Jubilee Gardens. After saying a few words to her, I took the little girl's hand and started looking for her mother.

By the river, I saw Gordon and Scott both helping with getting the people who had been trapped in the monorail car out of it and to a place where the paramedics on the scene could help them.

Paramedics!

Suddenly, I remember John's condition. I had been so worried about Alan and the people trapped on the monorail that I had forgotten about his injuries. I think we all had. John shouldn't have been helping us out like he had been. At the very least he should have been onboard Thunderbird 2 resting.

Unfortunately, I had the scared little girl with me right then. I had to find her mother before I could look around for John. I just hoped he was doing okay.

"Shelly!" I heard an excited voice shout out. The little girl had told me that was her name and I looked around to see who had shouted the name.

"Mommy!" the little girl said letting go of my hand and rushing in the direction that the first shout had come from. I looked up to see a young blonde woman rushing toward us. As the little girl got close to her, the woman knelt down and held her arms out to the little girl. Shelly ran right into them a smile now on her face.

I didn't wait around for recognition. The little girl was back with her mother and I had my own family member to worry about. I wanted to find John.

I looked around the area for him, panic rising within me. What if something had happened to him? What if he had passed out? How could I have been so stupid to even let him out of my sight? Sure he had seemed fine but he still needed medical attention.

Then I spotted him by the river. He had his back to me but I could still tell that he was leaning against the railing. Breaking into a run, I hurried over to him.

"John?" I said coming to a stop beside him. I reached out a hand and let it come to rest on his good shoulder.

He was gripping the railing tightly with his good hand and he had his eyes closed. His face was pale. When I didn't get an answer I reached out and touched his cheek. His skin was cold, moist and clammy. Even without counting I could tell his rate of breathing was increased. They were all signs of shock.

"Come on let's get you onto Thunderbird 2," I told him softly putting an arm around his waist and draping his good arm across my shoulders.

"Virgil, I'll be fine. This accident scene . . . "

"Is under control," I told him. "The local police and rescue personnel can handle things from here," I told him as I started leading him away from the rail and toward Thunderbird 2.

Halfway there, John's knees gave out throwing me off balance. Somehow I managed to keep us both upright. I knew I needed helping though. I looked around and saw Scott nearby talking to a police officer.

"Scott!" I called out to him.

Scott glanced away from the officer and in the direction of my voice. As soon as he saw us, he left the officer he had been talking to and rushed over to us.

"Virgil, what's going on?" Scott asked as he joined us. He put an arm around John, taking some of our brother's weight from me.

"He's going into shock. We need to get him onboard Thunderbird 2." I told him.

Without further incident, we got John onto Thunderbird 2 and laying down across the seats in the back. I grabbed the nearby medical kit and took out the emergency oxygen while Scott disappeared somewhere. I didn't bother asking him where he was going.

I put the oxygen mask on John and then picked up his uninjured hand, looking for a pulse. I couldn't find it in his wrist. Putting two fingers to the side of his neck, I looked for the carotid artery pulse. I found it and looking down at my watch started to count it.

"What is it?" I heard Scott asked from behind me as I finished taking the pulse. I looked back at him to see that he had a blanket in his hands.

"One hundred and ten," I told him taking the blanket from him and placing it over John. "Scott we need to get him to a hospital."

"Dad should . . ."

"We can't wait for Dad," I told him not giving him a chance to finish the sentence. "We've already waited too long."

I saw Scott nod slightly.

"Let me go get Gordon," Scott said and then hurried off of Thunderbird two.

Alone with John, I glanced down at him. I didn't like what I saw. I knew he didn't get the medical attention he needed soon that we could lose him.

"Hang on John," I told him softly, reaching down to take his hand in mine. I felt him slightly squeeze my hand. I returned the grip. Letting him know I was there and silently praying that we weren't already too late.

It wasn't long before Scott came rushing back onboard Thunderbird 2, Gordon close behind him. The two rushed toward the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 without a word. I knew Scott would try to get a hold of Dad once were in the air. At the very least, he would inform Brains of what we were doing. As soon as Dad was done dealing with The Hood, he would join us at the hospital.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry about the delay with posting this. Real Life had other plans for me. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p>Ten minutes into the flight, Scott came out of the cockpit to join me in the back.<p>

"I still haven't got a hold of Dad. Brains knows what is going on and will let him know what is going on. I called Dr. Harper and he'll meet us at Walt Disney Memorial Hospital," Scott told me.

I nodded. Dr. Mark Harper was Dad's best friend. They had known each other since before the two of them were in high school. For as long as I could remember Dr. Harper had been our family doctor. Even after he quit his general practice to start working at the hospital and free clinic full time and Dad had moved us to the island, he had remained our physician sometimes coming out to the island to check up on us.

He knew about International Rescue. Had actually helped Dad get it up and running and had trained us all in first aid. With the dangers of what we did it was good to have a doctor that we knew we could trust explicitly.

"Virge, its going to be okay," Scott told me his hand coming to rest on my shoulder.

I looked up at him. Despite the reassuring tone and attitude he was trying to portray I could see the worry in his eyes. See the doubt.

I looked away from Scott and back to John. I couldn't lose him. I just couldn't. John knew me the best. At times I thought he was the only member of my family who understood me. Scott, Gordon, and Alan all took more after our father. None of them had any real appreciation for the arts. Gordon's comment this morning was evident of that fact.

But it wasn't only that. John was the one that I went to with my problems. I think we all did. However, I also knew that I was the one John came to when he needed someone to talk to. I knew how responsible John felt for this family. How much stress he felt knowing that Dad counted on him as much as he did not that he ever resented it. John just needed someone to talk to from time to time like we all did. John had a role in this family that none of us could fill in.

Those talks had led to the development of a closeness between us, though. One that, although I loved all my brothers, I didn't feel with any of them. Yeah, I might hang out the most with Gordon, but I was no where as close to him as I was John.

Without another word, Scott headed back up front with Gordon leaving me alone with John again.

I looked down at John and saw that he had his eyes open. There was a vacant look in them though.

"John?" I said hoping that I would get some kind of response from him. He didn't even look in my direction. "John, can you hear me?" I tried again. He turned his head toward me but the vacant look was still there. I wasn't sure if he knew who I was or not. I knew we were running out of time.

I was starting to wish that Thunderbird 2 was a fast as Thunderbird 1 was. The extra time in this case was critical.

"Virgil, we're getting ready to land," Scott called back from the cockpit.

"F.A.B." I called back. I knew that I should probably get strapped in for the landing but I didn't want to leave John's side. Before long, I felt the soft thud as Thunderbird 2 touched down.

No sooner had the hatch opened and Dr. Harper was rushing up the ramp. He was dressed in sweat pants and T-shirt with a lab coat thrown over top. I knew then that he had been at home when Scott had called him and not on duty. I also knew that it didn't matter. Dr. Harper, or Uncle Mike as we called him when he was out on the island, was part of the family. A feeling that went both ways.

I quickly stood up and took a step back, to give him some room.

"How is he?" Dr. Harper asked as he knelt down beside John and started looking him over.

I knew what information he wanted, and started telling him everything I could. Training was kicking in again and I said the words without really thinking about them. I was vaguely aware that Scott was now standing behind me again.

The hospital medical team wasn't far behind Mike, in entering the rocket. They came hurrying up the ramp with a gurney. Mike started giving orders and they went into action like clockwork. I knew the feeling. You didn't really think about what you were doing you just did it on instinct.

I heard the words that passed between the medical personnel but I didn't really concentrate on them. It was like another language to me and I couldn't really follow the conversation. I knew that John was in good hands now though. I knew they would do everything that they could for him.

It didn't stop me from worrying though.

"Dad just called. The Hood's been arrested and he and the others are on their way here," Gordon said coming out of the cockpit as Dr. Harper and his team transferred John to the gurney.

"Everyone okay?" I heard Scott asked from behind me.

"Yeah," Gordon replied.

Even though I was aware of everything that was going on around me it seemed like it was happening to someone else. That I wasn't really there.

"Virgil, you okay?" Scott asked me putting an arm around my shoulders. I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Yeah," I told him the response coming automatically. I wasn't sure how I really was. I just felt numb.

Without another word, I felt Scott start leading me off Thunderbird 2 as we followed the medical team of the ship and toward the hospital. I knew Gordon was behind us securing the ship as someone had to. It was like I was on autopilot. I was only doing and thinking about things that were instinctive.

We followed the medical team into the hospital. As they reached some double doors, Dr. Harper broke away from them and turned to us.

He lead us into a nearby private waiting room talking as we went.

"I'll let you know as soon as we have him stabilized," he was telling us. "We're going to do everything we can for him." Dr. Harper pause and I felt his eyes on me. "Virgil are you okay?" he asked looking down at me.

I nodded. I could see the worry on his face. I didn't want him to be concerned about me though. John needed him more than I did.

"Sit down," I heard him tell me.

I wanted to protest. Tell him to leave me alone. To go do his job. To go help John.

I didn't though. I let him lead me to a nearby chair. As I sat down, he grabbed my wrist and started checking my pulse.

"I'm fine," I told him, finally starting to come out of the daze I had seemed to be in.

"I'll be the judge of that," he told me finishing his quick evaluation of me. I saw him glance up at Scott when he was done. "Keep an eye on him. If he dazes out like that again have someone come get me."

"Okay," Scott said nodding.

Dr. Harper stood up and left the room, disappearing through the double doors that the rest of his team had gone through.

I looked up at the clock on the wall. We had only been there twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes had seemed like an eternity though. An eternity with no word on how John was doing one way or the other.

_No news is good news._

I don't know who came up with that saying but they had no idea what they were talking about. I didn't like being in the dark like this. I got up and walked toward the window.

The sun was starting to get low on the horizon. The day was finally beginning to wind down for which I was more than thankful for. The peaceful morning that had started out the day seemed like a lifetime ago. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I just wanted the sun to set and end this day.

"Any word yet Scott?" I heard my dad ask.

I turned around to see him walking into the waiting room. Alan, Fermat, and Tin-Tin were right behind him. The three kids looked as exhausted as I felt. All three of them headed for a group of chairs by one of the walls and sat down. They were all quiet which was unusual all by itself.

"No Dad, nothing," I heard Scott tell him as he got up from where he was sitting and met Dad halfway. He lowered his voice as he started talking to him again. However, I didn't need to hear the words to know that Scott was talking about me.

"I'm fine now, so you can stop whispering," I said to them not leaving the window. The two of them immediately stopped talking and looked over at me, which only told me that I had been right.

Dad broke away from Scott and walked over to me.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, looking at me. I resisted the urge to look away. I knew that would only convince Dad that something was wrong. "We've all been through a lot today."

"I'm fine Dad really. I just spaced out a for a little while. I'm just really worried about John."

"We all are," Dad told me as he put his arms around me. I let him pull me close. Let myself be comforted by him even though I fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. Tears would only worry him more and I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to add to the things Dad had to worry about.

"Okay," I heard my Dad say after a little while. He let me go, although his arm still remained across my shoulders. I was thankful for that source of comfort. "Scott, I want you and your brothers to take Alan and the other two home. I'll stay here and wait for word on John. There is no need for all of us to be hanging around here."

"I want to stay," I said quickly. Looking over at Gordon and Scott, I could see that they wanted to make the same protest. None of us wanted to leave.

"It's been a long day Virgil," Dad said looking over at me. "I really think you should just go home. I'll call as soon as I know anything."

"Okay Dad," Scott said the tone of his voice changing to the one he used when he was in charge of a rescue mission. If Scott was giving in, I knew there was no point in keeping up the protest. Scott would drag me out of the hospital if he had to and Gordon would probably help him do it.

"I promise Virgil, the second I hear anything I'll call. You'll all be more comfortable waiting for news at home," he told me.

I nodded. I really didn't have the energy to keep up the protest anyway.

"Come on you three," Scott said to the kids. Alan didn't say anything as he got up and followed Scott out of the waiting room. I knew then just how exhausted Alan was. Alan never did anything quietly.

The other two got up and followed my two brothers. I looked up at my Dad once more. I could see the exhaustion and worry on his face. I had a feeling he wanted us to leave so he could stop feeling like he had to put up a strong front for us. Any thought of one last protest melted away. Giving him, a hard time was the last thing my father needed from me right now.

Without another word, I started following Scott and the others out of the waiting room. Gordon fell in step beside me. Without a word he put his arm around my shoulders as we left the waiting room. I knew it was going to be a long, quiet flight home.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: The end of the chapter picks up with the ending of the 2004 movie and dialogue is taking from the movie._

_AN: I never liked how the movie made it seemed like John's injuries heal quickly and to make it seem more realistic I added a time gap between the events in London and the events of the ending of the movie for my story. This is the last chapter. Hope you've enjoyed the story._

* * *

><p>"Virgil?" I heard Dad say softly.<p>

I came out of my thoughts about the days events to find my Dad standing in front of me. I looked up into his face and saw the concern there - concern for me.

"I'm fine Dad," I told him softly, keeping my voice down not wanting to disturb John. I could tell my words weren't convincing my father though.

"Mark mentioned he was concerned about you. That I should keep an eye on you. Maybe we should have him check you out more thoroughly."

"Dad, really I'm fine," I told him. "It's just been a long day."

"That it has," Dad said softly looking from me back to where John lay.

I could see the mix of emotions that passed over his face. The concern, anger, and guilt. I knew he felt responsible for what had happened today. For putting people, his sons included, in danger. But he wasn't responsible. The Hood was responsible for what happened today and as far as I was concerned it didn't matter that this happened because the maniac was out for revenge. We had no control over that. Not to mention, if it wasn't revenge on us, The Hood would have been up to something criminal anyway if he had still survived the collapse at his illegal diamond mine. A collapse that even more people wouldn't have survived if Dad hadn't created International Rescue.

"It wasn't your fault Dad," I said softly. Dad looked back at me. I could see a spark of surprise cross his face.

"That's something I expect to hear from John, not you," he told me.

"I guess he's starting to rub off on me," I said with a slight shrug.

"I'm just relieved that we're all here tonight," my Dad said. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want to talk?"

I shook my head slightly. Despite the jumble of thoughts and emotions that were going through my head right now I wasn't ready to talk. Talking would just make everything seem more real. I needed some time to sort through everything on my own. I knew eventually I would talk to my Dad but not tonight.

"I'll be fine Dad," I told him trying to smile and probably not doing a very good job at it.

"Well, when you're ready to talk, you know where to find me," Dad told me letting his hand come to rest on my shoulder. Just that simple gesture was a source of comfort for me. "Why don't you get some sleep? There's a lot of cleanup work to do, down here as well as getting Thunderbird 5 back to full operational status."

"I will in a little bit," I promised him, not quite ready to head for my own bed. I wanted to stay near John for a little while and try to really convince myself that he was going to be okay.

He nodded and started leaving the room.

"Hey Dad," I said to stop him. Dad turned around and looked back at me. "Do you think now we can get rid of that ugly orange couch?" I asked him. I felt a smile finally come to my face as I said those words.

My Dad smiled back at me. All of us kids had always given him a hard time about that couch as we all hated it. For some reason though my Dad liked it. Sometimes I think he bought it as a joke and kept it around to torment all of us.

"We'll see," he told me. "Don't stay up too much longer," he told me again.

I nodded and as he disappeared down the hallway to his own room I turned back and started walking toward the bed. I left the lights off, but the moonlight from the full moon outside gave me all the light I needed.

Although the soot and grime were gone, John still didn't look all the good. He was as pale as a ghost. His right arm was still in the sling both hands were now bandaged. I watched the slight rise and fall of the blanket as John breathed, thankful that he was breathing easier than he had been earlier. Thankful that he had been stable enough to come home. I would much rather have my brother at home recovering than at a hospital.

I grabbed the desk chair and pulled it over to the bed. Carefully I reached out and took John's left hand in my mine. I had come so close to losing him today that I needed the contact to convince myself that he was going to be okay. That I wasn't going to lose him.

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. Looking up at the ceiling, I tried to hold them off. Tried not to cry. It didn't work though, as I felt the cold tears start rolling down my cheeks. I reached up and wiped the tears away, still trying not to completely break down. I knew I was stronger than that but it was more than just that. I was afraid that if I started crying that I wouldn't be able to stop the tears.

I felt slight pressure on my hand. I looked down to see that John had his eyes open and was looking up at me.

"Everything is going to be okay Virge," John told me softly. I could hear the weariness in his voice and knew he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

I couldn't help it. Despite everything that had happened, despite the fact that the downstairs was a mess and Thunderbird 5 was in a worse state than that; I laughed. I don't know, maybe it was all the stress of the day finally getting to me or the relief from hearing John's voice. Or maybe it was just the irony of hearing those words from John when he had, without doubt, been through the worse. Had gone through the initial impact and survived it. Whatever it was, the laughter felt good.

"Nothing ever phases you does it. Everything that you've been through today and you're still trying to reassure others that everything is going to be okay," I said looking down at him.

"Someone has to," John told me a slight smile on his own face his eyes closing briefly and then opening again. "All kidding aside though, thanks for being there for me today, Virgil. You really came through when I needed you. There were plenty of times that I didn't . . ." his voice trailed off. I saw the tears glistening in his eyes. I felt him grip my hand tighter and I returned the grip. We might have been back at home but I knew then that my brother still needed. Was going to need me throughout his recovery. The day might be over but the ordeal wasn't. It wasn't over for any of us.

"It's okay. It's over," I told him softly knowing those words weren't accurate. Still I was trying to comfort him. Let him know that he was safe.

"No," he said softly, "It won't be over for a while."

I thought at first he was talking about his injuries. It was going to take John time to heal. It would probably be awhile before he was up to helping us rebuild what The Hood and his goons had destroyed. But that didn't matter. He was still with us. Injuries healed in time.

"It keeps replaying in my mind," he said continuing. He was looking at the ceiling now and not at me but suddenly I understood. He wasn't talking about physically. Emotionally this day was going to be with us for a while. Sure, we would keep going, rebuild, take precautions to keep this from happening again but the emotional scars would be there for a while. Our sense of security had been destroyed.

I remained quiet. Waiting to see if John would continue. I might not have been ready to talk about things but if John was, then I was ready to listen, especially since I knew that he would tell me things that he would never tell anyone else, not even Dad.

"I knew it wasn't a meteor that hit the station," John said. " It was moving too fast to be a meteor but I didn't say anything. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I was afraid that if you guys knew it had been an attack then you wouldn't come as fast - if at all. That figuring out what had happened would be the foremost on your mind."

"_This is my fault."_

I heard those words again and understood the meaning behind them even more. John blamed himself for not giving us a warning that the impact was more than just a random meteor hit. That the station had been outright attacked.

In the back of my mind I tried to figure out what I would have done. If it had been me up in the station all alone and knowing I was under attack and that there was nothing I could do about it. We all thought of the station as being the safest place to be. I was starting to realize just how vulnerable it was.

"It wouldn't have changed anything, John," I told him. " Even if we had known it wasn't a meteor impact we would have still come without hesitation."

I completely believed those words. I knew our father well enough to know nothing would have stopped him from going to John's aid.

"You can't blame yourself for this, John," I continued. "The Hood took us all by surprise. No one saw it coming. It just was."

"I know you're right but . . ."

"No buts," I told him cutting him off. "It happened. We learn from it and move on. We rebuild."

"Don't remind me about rebuilding. Thunderbird 5 is a mess and its going to take a lot of work to get in fully operational again."

"Downstairs isn't much better," I told him thinking about the mess we had walked into upon coming home this evening.

Glass was everywhere. Things were broken. The whole glass wall was shattered. It was going to take awhile to clean up. Scott, Gordon and I had thought about starting the process when we had gotten home but had never gotten around to it. Our thoughts had still been at the hospital even though we were on the island.

"Guess in a way I'm lucky," John said a mischievous smile coming to his face. "At least I get out of the cleanup."

"Oh, we'll find someway to get you back for that," I told him with a smile. The fact that he was making jokes about the whole situation was a good sign.

"I'm sure you'll try," John said drowsily.

I saw John's eyes start to drift close, his body's need for sleep once again winning out.

"Good night John," I said softly not getting an answer but not really expecting one.

I sat by his side for a few more minutes before finally getting up and leaving the room. I quietly made my way down to my own room.

Walking into my room, I finally realized just how tired I was. I walked straight to my bed and crawled in. Drawing the blanket up over top of me, I laid my head down on the pillow. My mind at ease, I was soon drifting off to sleep.

**_Two months later:_**

"That's it," Dad's voice said coming over the radio. He was talking to John. John, Gordon and I had been up on Thunderbird 5 for the last couple of hours trying to get all the kinks out of the newly reinstalled computer software. After two months of repairs, we were finally ready to bring the station back online. Even though it meant one of us, mostly John, would be up here, it would also be nice to have things back to normal.

John was sitting at the control panel go through the checks with Dad. Gordon and I were standing up against the wall observing. Since they started doing checks there was nothing for the two of us to do except watch.

"Go ahead and put things on standby up there and the three of you come home," Dad told him. I could hear the relief in his voice. It was a relief we all felt. It was the relief that we had finally manage to put back together everything that The Hood had destroyed.

The house had been cleaned up and repaired a couple of days after the incident. And to my relief, the orange couch was no longer anywhere to be seen. Dad had got another dark green one to match the other one.

Trips up to Thunderbird 5 had started a couple days after the incident and had been frequent. At first it was just Dad and Brains going up as they tried to get environmental controls working right again. After that Gordon, Scott and I spent a lot of time up there cleaning up debris and the soot and grime that covered everything. Even Alan had come up with us a couple of times before he returned to school. Still, Alan was upset because Dad wouldn't give him a definite answer about when he could start his training. Like the rest of us, I knew Dad would wait until he thought Alan was ready. I also knew that the time had arrived and that Alan would be getting quite a surprise tonight when he got home from school.

As for the emotional healing, that was coming along too. Dad and I had a long talk the next day about everything. I think Dad had found the time to talk to each of us. The topic had also come up quite a few times while we work cleaning up and rebuilding. In the past two months, I had a least one conversation with each of my brothers about that day. The talking helped but at this point and time I was ready to just put it behind me. To forget about what had happened that day.

"F.A.B. Dad," John told him. "Thunderbird 5 out."

"_Standby mode engaged" _the computer said.

"You two ready," John said as he stood up and turned to us.

"Yeah, we've been ready," Gordon told him.

"Then lets go. I want to get back so I can enjoy my last night at home," John told him as he headed toward us.

International Rescue was officially going back to full operation tomorrow. As for tonight, we were going to enjoy each other's company. Lady Penelope and Parker were on the island. Scott had gone to Wharton Academy to get Alan and Fermat for summer vacation and it would be John's last night on the island for a month. The last chance for a while, for all of us to be together.

The three of us headed for the airlock and boarded Thunderbird 3. Gordon and I took the front two seats, while John took the seat normally occupied by Dad. Soon we had undocked from the station and were heading away from it, back to earth.

Soon after we were back on Tracy Island, I was in my swim trunks and heading down to the pool area. Dad was already down there, starting up the grill. Lady P was nearby with a drink in her hands talking with Parker. Alan and Scott were already in the pool with Fermat sitting on the edge of the pool.

Tossing my towel off to the side, I jumped into the pool making sure I was close enough to splash both Alan and Scott. I heard Alan's shout of protest as I went under the water. When my head broke the surface though I had just enough time to get in another breath of air before Scott was pushing me back under the water. I came up and immediately went after him.

While Scott and I were horsing around, Alan went over and tried to convince Fermat to come into the pool. I heard Onaha and Kryano's voices as they walked down from the house to the pool area.

John and Gordon came down from the house and joined us in the pool. By this time, Alan had convinced Fermat to get into the pool and was trying to help him learn how to swim.

Before long, Scott, Gordon and I were tossing a football around. John was floating around on a raft in the middle of the pool.

Gordon tossed the ball in my direction. I almost had it, but the wet ball slipped out of my hands and splashed in the water behind me. I turned around and got it, noticing that Alan had climbed out of the pool. I know Scott had been giving our little brother a rough time and I guess Alan had enough.

"That was a nice catch," John said, teasing me as I tossed the football over to Scott.

"Hey Scott," Gordon said as Scott caught the football, "Get him," he said nodding in the direction of John on his raft.

Scott dropped the football into the water and the three of us converged on our brother on the raft, splashing him as we got closer.

"Get off," John said as Scott tried to grab his ankle. By this time John was part way off of the raft.

Gordon and I were coming up behind John. Gordon reached him before I did, and putting his hands on his shoulders pushed John underneath the water. By this time I was close enough to join in on the fun and tried to hold John underneath the water for a little bit.

Despite me trying to hold him under John soon had his head back above water. Grabbing a hold of me he dunked me under the water.

"Hey, Gordon's the one who started it," I told him wiping the water out of my eyes as I came back up.

"Yeah, but you're the one I could get a hold of," John told me.

"Gordon, catch," Scott called out, throwing the ball in Gordon's direction who was still behind John.

John reached up and batted the football out of the air.

"Hey," Scott said.

"Looked like a bad throw to me," John told him.

I saw Scott start in John's direction but we heard the clanging of the triangle.

"Gather around, everybody," Dad called out as he put the triangle down. "I have an announcement to make."

My brother's and I all headed for the side of the pool. Climbing out we stood next to each other waiting for Dad to continue. We all knew what was going on. What Dad was about to say. The only ones who didn't know were Alan, Fermat and Tin-Tin.

"Tonight is a special night. We're all together because of three very special people - - Fermat, Tin-Tin, Alan. The world needs Thunderbirds, and the Thunderbirds need you," He told them as he reached into his pocket for the three IR pins he had with him.

I could see the shocked expressions on all three of the kids' faces and my smile got bigger. I was proud of my little brother- of all three of them really. They had come through for us when it mattered.

"Thank-you sir," I heard Tin-Tin say to my Dad as he pinned the pin on her shirt. Off to the side I could hear Parker sniffling which was a shock. Parker had never struck me as an emotional guy.

"Congratulations Alan," Dad told him as he put the pin on a very shocked Alan. I could hear the pride in his voice. The pride that I knew all my brothers felt too. "No short cuts. You earned it," he told Alan. "You all did," he said glancing at the other two.

"I'm not usually an emotional man, but sometimes even the toughest nut must crack," Parker said as Gordon, John and I all walked over to Alan.

"Way to go, sprout," Scott told him shaking his hand and rubbing his head at the same time. I was beside Scott and I clapped Alan's shoulder. The two of us both had something else on our minds though.

"That's my boy, Alan! That's my brother!" I heard John say even as Scott and I got on either side of our youngest brother and tossed him into the pool, jumping in after him.

As I went under, I heard more splashes behind me and knew that Gordon and John had brought Fermat into the pool too. On the side of the pool I could hear the others laughing.

As the six of us goofed around I was vaguely aware of hearing my Dad's cell phone ringing. I didn't concentrate on it though. If it was something important, we would know about it soon enough. Right then I just wanted to enjoy the few moments I had with my brothers. It wasn't often that the five of us were all together.

"Boys." Dad called out to us and I knew it meant we had another mission to go on. As much as we wanted this night to ourselves, it wasn't going to happen.

All of us headed toward the side of the pool and climbed out. Soon we were all up in the command center, my brothers and me all dressed in our IR uniforms, including Alan. He would come along with us tonight, as an observer but it would be the start to his training.

The five of us took our places in front of our photos on the wall, Alan's photo now there besides John's. Dad was staying back at Command and Control to monitor things as best he could from there. Without someone up in the station, someone had to be in the control room to receive the information that the station would send down to the control center.

I glanced over to look at Alan. I could see Gordon and John doing the same thing. Alan was standing there beside John, a huge smile on his face.

I knew how he felt. It was four years ago, but I had been in his shoes before. He was officially apart of all this now and in this family anymore, in a way that made you feel like you were a full member of this family. No longer an outsider. That was how much a part of our lives International Rescue had become.

"Thunderbirds are go," I heard my Dad say, bringing me out of my thoughts.

This wasn't time for reflection. We had a mission to preform. A duty to carry out.


End file.
